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An Inspiring Message from an Incredible Man

Meeting called to order:

President Mike grabbed the mike at 12:15 and told everyone "he was in charge and could ring the bell any time he wished!" It was then rung at 12:16PM.

Pledge:
President Mike then performed the pledge himself. (Maybe because the pledge person had not arrived yet?...)

Rotary Moment:
Bill Dodson signed up for the rotary moment today to announce that it is his birthday. The club then booted out a hearty rendition of the Happy Birthday ditty.

Visiting Rotarians:
Janet Codding introduced some Rotarians that, as usual, enjoy the Los Robles food over their venue.

Guests:
Neil Silverman brought the only guests today. His wife Susan, his son, Scott who is visiting from Hong Kong and two other esteemed individuals.

Announcements:
Downtown Fundraiser: September 7 & 8th is the Concourse party fundraiser for the Downtown Rotary Club. Talk to any of the visiting Downtowners to get more details.

Pres- Elect Louie Capuano was reminded he will be running the meeting next week in President Mike's absence. There was a small ovation for this fact.

Roger Olson, or "Mr. Pacific Coast Air Museum", reminded us of the PCAM Air Show, coming up on August 24 & 25 at the airport. Specially labeled pinot noir bottles with historic PCAM planes on the label are also for sale at $30 a pop. Contact Roger at rolson@callatg.com for more info.

Bryan Jamar was asked to stand up and be recognized, literally because we have not seen him for months. It seems Bryan and his wife Gail spent a month in Europe, a month in Tahoe, attended his 50th high school reunion, went to Klamath Falls for a few days, and also a week in Canada on a fishing trip. To get out of his fine, he tried to convince President Mike he was a bleeding heart. Mike told him he has no conscience and to pay up $50.

Pres- Elect Louie Capuano was called upon again to fess up to drilling 7200 feet down on the San Andreas Fault. He then gave us a short physics lesson on Geothermal energy, and tried to bribe his way out of a fine by telling us he could predict the next earthquake. Louie was ultimately charged $25 for not starting "The Big One" and possibly providing 5000 Kilowatts to needy power people into the future.

Gil Lucas is back in town, sans the beard, from a 4100 mile Harley ride to Sturgis. This is the second year in row for Gil, who traveled through many states, pulling numerous bugs from his teeth and got his picture downloaded on the Internet. (I am sorry ladies, he did keep his clothes on). He also reported that his bike somehow confronted a deer and it seems Gil got the better of the collision. $25 is the new Rotary rate for traveling to 6 states and hitting only 1 deer.

Chuck Baker was called upon to discuss his birthday that actually is not 'till August 27th. I guess we will acknowledge him again on the 26th…?

Von Von Der Mehden was asked to stand and tell us about his wedding anniversary on the 9th that equals 38 years of wedded bliss.

Robin Marrs also was recognized for his 39 years of marriage in July. He also told us his wife got a Blue Ribbon at the fair for her quilt. This led to a $15 debit from his account.

Carl Vallejos tried to park his new 2002 Ford Excursion in the back lot, but Rotary spies caught on to this act and he was called to the table. It seems he also took his wife on a 12 day Alaskan cruise - 1st class, but with no butler. He was then quickly relieved of 35 hard earned greenbacks.

Fred Zmarzly was holding $5 in his hand throughout the meeting to reveal his wedding anniversary that notes 36 years of matrimony.

Lisa Greenfield is back! And she brought her new improved back with her. She looks great and has had a very quick recovery. She thanked the club for the cards and thoughts while she was out.

Raffle for the cash Drawing:

Marble Drawing:
Lucky Von had the winning ticket, but failed to pull the elusive black marble from a pool of only 6! Next week we see 5 marbles and $750.

Raffle for Wine Drawing:
Arnie Carston was the err...lucky (?) winner of a bottle of wine that seemed to be only ¾ full. Somebody has to keep the bottles out of President Mike's hands before the meetings....

The Program:

Neil Silverman introduced our guest speaker Richard Aceno. Neil was part of the GSE team that went to the Philippines and met Richard whose quest is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities. The SR West Rotary sent money to Richard to buy equipment for his program of building chairs for children in the Philippines. The program hires only disabled people to make the chairs that are needed in the local Philippine schools. The work force was expanded to 40 employees with the new equipment that gives the people self esteem and wages that they could not have earned elsewhere.

Richard quit his job at the university where he was teaching when he came to realize that there are no handicapped children enrolled there. He has become a delegate to the United Nations to increase ODE funding to handicapped individuals in underdeveloped nations. He has also proposed to the UN that more disabled individuals participate in the UN ad hoc meetings and get support for the children in the Asia Pacific regions where handicapped individuals are neglected.

He ended the meeting singing a heart-warming song that he first sang in the hospital when he thought the end was near. There were a few wet eyes in the audience and Richard received a much-deserved standing ovation for his dedication to a noble cause.

Your Bulletin Reporter: John Meislahn	Your Editor: Jim Valinoti

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Changes or comments?

Contact Jim Valinoti at valinoti@sonic.net or (707) 829-2300.

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